A/N: Hey all! Thank you so much for your lovely reviews. I know you're used to me posting chapters more often than I have been, but I'm having a little trouble organizing my plot - this chapter, for example, was rewritten three times. So I have all these other scenes that I want to use at some point, but they don't work here. I guess it's some form of writer's block - maybe organization block? So - what I'm going to promise is that I will update once a week, but until I break through whatever barrier is in my head. I hope you will bear with me! :)

Chapter Twenty-Four: Don't Care Kate

I was so jittery. It wasn't because Dad had decided to give me a last minute, sanctimonious lecture about the importance of Sixth Year and doing something important with my life. It wasn't even because said lecture ended up making us really late leaving the house. And it was only slightly because Mum had made me four cups of tea before the clock had even struck eight.

King's Cross was extremely crowded and the adrenaline from our initial lateness paired with my anxiety over returning to school when my life was going to be completely different was making my blood feel like it was vibrating in my veins.

"Will you get your nose out of that book?" I hissed, tugging on Mafalda's arm as we made our way through the mass of travellers. "We keep bumping into people."

She huffed and tucked away the Astronomy book I'd got her and pulled me in another direction. "You're going the wrong way anyway."

"Mafalda, I've been going to the bloody platform for 6 years, I know where I'm going."

"Yes, but I'm supposed to meet Edgar on Platform 8 first."

I wrenched my arm free and gave her a look. "I don't need to see your prat boyfriend Mafalda, I'll see him at school. And so will you."

"You've been so rude since Sirius broke up with you. Even crankier than usual," she sniffed.

"Me?!" I shrieked, scaring even myself with how much the sound reminded me of a banshee. Disgusting – I sounded like her. I shook my head and sighed. "Okay, sorry. Say hi to Ed – I'll see you on the train."

"Remember to behave!" she called as I headed to 9 and ¾ struggling not to flip her off behind me.

I looked for him involuntarily once I'd passed through the barrier. I wasn't sure why it felt like a habit, since we'd only been together long enough for one meeting on the platform anyway, but even so, my eyes swept the crowd for his elegant disarray of dark hair without thinking. Once I'd realized I was doing it, it was too late and I'd already caught sight of him. He and James were standing by one of the train doors, looking at a large glass container in Peter's hands. I guess he'd got a new toad or something. Since they were distracted, I tried to scurry off to another door and avoid their gaze, but James caught sight of me and raised his arm in greeting after I'd taken less than four steps.

"Kate!" he called, abruptly dropping his hand to his side, and then glancing at Sirius looking bewildered. Sirius closed his eyes and I saw his whole torso sink with a heavy sigh as I awkwardly walked over to them and tucked my hair behind my ears.

"All right lads?" I said, casually. "Nice toad, Peter."

He looked confused. "Who Maximilian? Kate, I've had him since first year."

"In all fairness, we try to pretend he doesn't exist," James put in, putting his hands in his pockets and bouncing a little on his heels. He shot Sirius another look and then cleared his throat uncomfortably. "How was the rest of break?"

"Yeah, okay," I said, fiddling with the handle on my trunk. It slipped out of my grasp and fell with a heavy thud making me wince. Lovely. I was a bumbling, awkward mess and the crease between Sirius' eyebrows told the whole story – evidently he still thought breaking up was a good idea.

"Oh hey, let us get that," James said, nodding to Sirius to help him before suddenly changing his mind and grimacing again. Without another word, he pulled the tank from Peter's hands and shoved it into Sirius'. He grabbed one side of my trunk and beckoned for Peter to take the other.

"Thanks," I said, as they lifted it easily on to the train and disappeared around the corner out of sight. My gaze flickered to Sirius, and I felt nervous and a little ill. He was chewing the inside of his cheek, looking around the platform with a slightly bored expression. There was the mysterious indifference he exuded – the thing that I'd always liked and hated about the way he looked. This time however, I didn't get the little flutter in my stomach or even feel the stab of annoyance – I just felt hurt.

Rather than snapping or letting myself get teary or anything, I said, "How are you?" in the most polite voice I could. Very mature.

He shrugged and looked down into the tank. "Good, you?"

"Yeah, fine."

"Cool."

It was like pulling teeth.

"How's the motorcycle going?" I asked, still with that fake nonchalance.

"Yeah, pretty well. Haven't had a chance to work on it much though," he said, making my heart sink further. I knew James had been lying when he'd wrote about the reasons Sirius wasn't replying, but hearing the confirmation didn't even make me think 'I told you so'.

"Right. Cool."

"Hey!"

Thank Merlin, James was back. I actually had to hand it to him – he hadn't always been my biggest fan, but he was being really nice, considering.

"Pete's got us a free compartment," he said. Sirius nodded enthusiastically and if James hadn't climbed down the stairs to stand beside me, I was sure he would've taken off at top speed.

"Saw Lily and Dorcas in the third compartment down – we put your trunk in there," James added, patting me oddly on the shoulder. "They're looking forward to seeing you."

I wet my lips and swallowed, still glancing at Sirius to see if there was any sign he was paying attention to me. He wasn't. He was staring at the sign for the platform with unbelievable concentration. Over his shoulder I noticed Greta Catchlove watching with interest and leaning over to whisper to a girl I didn't know by name. They giggled and I felt a stab of embarrassment. The news of the breakup would be out amongst the school within two minutes of the Hogwarts Express arriving at Hogsmeade station.

"Yeah," James was still talking, filling in the awkward silence like a champion. "It was weird seeing Dorcas – only marginally less uncomfortable than this has been."

Sirius let out a throaty, unamused chuckle and I coughed unnecessarily.

"Have you seen Remus?" Sirius asked me, for the first time initiating conversation.

"Yeah, yesterday."

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"What?" I snapped and James subtly moved to stand between the two of us. We'd unintentionally taken a step towards each other, glaring slightly.

"He's my mate too," I said, not looking away from Sirius.

He nodded coolly. "Sure. Just so long as you remember that you've got mates of your own."

My mouth dropped open and James cleared his throat loudly.

"Okay – I think what Sirius meant was, have you seen Remus on the platform?"

"No. I'm going to find Lily and Dorcas. See you James," I said, pushing around him to climb on to the train. I hated stupid Sirius.

"Yeah," he called and I stopped in the doorway, wishing I could turn and scream my head off at him.

"Why don't you tell them the prick says hi?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that it wasn't only Greta watching anymore. There was quite a crowd surrounding the train door, watching interestedly and pretending they were waiting to use this entrance even though there were several more doors available. It wouldn't do to react to his sarcasm.

In the end, I laughed lightly and twiddled my fingers unconcernedly at him.

"Will do!"

Once out of my sight, I shook my head in anger, and headed inside to find Lily and Dorcas. Bloody insensitive idiot – how could he act like none of this affected him? Sure, he was annoyed that Remus was still my friend and that Lily and Dorcas had given him a hard time – but didn't he miss me at all? He was so blasé! I hated him.

Upon reaching the compartment, I overheard the familiar voices of my friends talking to Remus.

"Yeah, she seems okay. Still doesn't want to talk about it much, but I think she'll be all right."

"It's so unlike her not to obsess it to death," Dorcas said.

"Well, it's different this time, isn't it?" Lily replied. "They've split up for good now."

I fluffed up my hair, smiled plastically at a few passing people watching me with curiosity, and headed into the compartment.

"Talking about me?" I grinned as Dorcas and Lily sprung to their feet and rushed over to throw their arms around me. "All right, all right – get off, I can't breathe. There you are Remus – your mates are looking for you."

I sat down; ignoring Lily and Dorcas' crazed looks of worry and nodded to Remus.

"Yeah, I'll find them in a minute. Just thought I'd fill the girls in on your headspace, since you're being so secretive," Remus said, shaking his head and kicking my foot.

I sighed heavily and looked at my friends in exasperation. "Look, there's nothing to it. He decided he didn't want a girlfriend – we broke up. I was sad for a bit, but it's like you said about Archie, Lil – I'm fine. Ready to have fun for the rest of the year."

Lily and Dorcas exchanged a look and Remus sighed.

"Kate, you don't need to pretend to be tough about this. I know you're probably hurt," Lily said, squeezing my hand.

"Oh a bit," I said, waving her off casually. "But it's not like I haven't been single before. It's a bit weird obviously, it's going to take some adjusting, but I'm honestly looking forward to it."

They nodded, and even if they didn't buy it – they seemed to let it go for now.

"Oh, there you are Moony!" James had appeared in the compartment door and thankfully he was alone. "Where've you been? I was just in here five minutes ago."

"Yeah they said that – I was just coming to find you," Remus said, standing up and grabbing hold of his trunk.

"Cool – we're just a couple of compartments down. You can tell by the gaggle of losers looking in through the window like that," James said, indicating over his shoulder with his thumb. True to his word, several students were looking in and immediately turned away when they saw that I'd seen. Everyone was so bloody nosy.

"Okay, see you lot at Hogwarts then," Remus said, pushing his trunk over so James could help him lift the other side. My eyes narrowed as I saw a couple of girls whispering and pointing at me through the window.

Just as James and Remus were half way out of the compartment, James stopped and turned to look at me, biting his lip.

"Hey Kate, look – don't take the way Sirius is acting personally. He's just a bit annoyed that everyone's making him out to be the bad guy and is trying to pretend that it doesn't bother him. He doesn't mean to be rude. Right Remus?"

"Yeah, I reckon he's just trying to make a point or something – it doesn't have anything to do with you really. He's just 'Don't give a Shit' Sirius for now. He'll be back to normal soon enough."

James chuckled. "That's a good one – we should call him that and mock him out of it."

They laughed and I joined in, rolling my eyes. Don't give a Shit Sirius – what a knob.

"Look lads, thanks for your concern. But honestly, I'm fine. He can act how he wants. Just call me 'Don't Care Kate'."

The boys exchanged a look and I could see them glancing anxiously at Dorcas and Lily too, but I pretended not to notice and put my lips together, trying to whistle.

Back to old habits.

"I can't believe it. They always seemed like the perfect couple."

"Yeah, I thought she'd seem more upset. I mean, how do you go on from Sirius Black? Everyone after him has got to be a downgrade."

"How far d'you reckon he got with her?"

"Probably the full monty. You remember what she was like before him, don't you? She'd snog anyone who paid her a compliment. D'you reckon she's bad in bed or something – maybe that's why Black dumped her?"

"I knew Evans would come to her senses. She was way too good for Davies."

"Poor Lily – I hope she's okay!"

"Look at the smug look on her face – It's almost as if Hopkirk thinks she's above it all."

"So who broke up with who? Was it definitely Sirius or do you think it was more mutual? Has anyone seen them talking?"

I fought back a hiss as I walked to our first lesson of the day and overheard the gossip and speculation. People were so thick – honestly, they could see me right there – the least they could do was bother to lower their whispers. I smiled at a couple of Ravenclaws staring at me and they immediately bent their heads together to talk. It might as well have been a shout considering the volume of their muttering.

"See? She's fine – I don't think she really takes anything seriously. I wish I could do that – just let things roll off my back like her."

"Well she's not very deep, is she? I reckon Sirius was probably looking for someone less shallow."

I groaned and clenched my fists feeling only slightly calmer when Lily squeezed my wrist.

"Ignore them. They've got nothing better to do with their lives."

"Yeah, you too," I muttered. The rumours flying around about Lily and Archie's breakup were much less intense since they hadn't been together as long and as usual, Lily came out of it looking like a saint. I wasn't surprised of course, that everyone was on Lily's side – she had always been the 'better' one in her relationship. I couldn't help but feel jealous though – that people seemed to think I was the 'worse' one in my relationship.

"How are you feeling though?" Dorcas asked in a low voice. "You've told us what happened, but haven't said a thing about what you're thinking!"

I massaged my temples and fiddled with the clasp on my bag so I wouldn't have to answer right away. When my friends stubbornly refused to change the subject, I sighed and shrugged.

"To tell you the truth, I just don't know."

"How can you not–"

"I completely understand," Lily said, cutting Dorcas off with a sharp look. "It's like you and Sirius have just been off and on for so long, it must be hard to get used to it being actually over this time."

I nodded and chewed on my lip. "Yeah. And it's just strange to be single again. I just…well, I just like being in love."

Even Dorcas looked like she felt sorry for me then and I pulled out a few of my quills to sort to avoid looking too awkward. Lily leaned over to rub my back and gave me a supportive smile. I swallowed and let out a feeble laugh.

"And I guess everyone was just expecting it to work out between us, and so I sort of thought it would too."

"You should just focus on other things – remind yourself what it was like before him," Dorcas suggested.

"Yeah, I guess there are a few other lads who I wouldn't mind snogging."

I couldn't think of a single one. Especially considering I'd overheard several wondering if I would sleep with them.

"Er – I think maybe Dorcas meant to just focus on having fun and enjoying your freedom. You don't need to have another boyfriend right away. We could all have more girls nights and stuff. Or would you want to try and stay friends with the lads too?" Lily said, looking doubtful.

"Just Remus, I think," I shrugged. "It's too bad I promised not to set him up on any more dates – it would have made for a good project to concentrate on."

Dorcas laughed and shook her head. "You could focus on school, you know?"

I laughed too and gave her a disappointed look. "And you call me your best friend."

Girls were of course thrilled that Sirius was back on the market and were eager to press me for details regarding the breakup. I was on the way to History of Magic with Remus on our second day back, happy because he wasn't fussing and instead telling me about some boring detail of his essay, when a couple of Hufflepuffs from the year below stopped me. I recognized them, with surprise, as the girls who had once asked me if I could set them up with Remus. But they weren't focused on him right now; they were staring at me impatiently.

"Hey Kate," The girl with the pixie cut said.

"How are you?" The fluffy haired one added.

I smiled. "Smashing. What can I do for you?"

They glanced at Remus and the pixie cut nervously giggled while the Fluffy grabbed hold of her arm.

"Is it true? Did you and Sirius split up properly?"

Remus frowned and opened his mouth to retort, but I nodded.

"Yeah, it turns out that he's already betrothed to some Slytherin girl and I have decided to pursue a future as a circus mime, so it just wasn't meant to be."

Remus chuckled as the girls blinked at me in confusion.

"Really?" Pixie asked and I sighed heavily.

"No, not really. It just didn't work out."

"Oh!" Fluffy said happily before suddenly arranging her face to look solemn. "Sorry. That's awful."

"Yeah, it ranks among the top five worst events in history, I reckon," I said nonchalantly. "Somewhere above Grindelwald's control over Europe."

"Er..."

"Excuse us girls, we're late for lessons," Remus said firmly, grabbing hold of my elbow and tugging me with purpose between them. Once we'd turned the corner, he scoffed. "People are so bloody nosy."

"I think it's funny," I lied. "I can come up with all sorts of different reasons for our breakup. Next, I'm considering saying that I fell in love with a particularly handsome Hippogriff and Sirius couldn't stand being in the middle."

We both laughed and I was glad to let some of the pressure out of chest.

"You're okay though? Handling things all right?" he asked, lowering his voice with concern.

"I'm fine. I mean – do I wish I were as flippant about the whole thing as he's been – of course. But alas, I am a human girl with feelings and I can't brush off six months like it was nothing."

He patted my back and clicked his tongue like an owl and I chuckled at our new form of comfort.

"For what it's worth – he's not exactly enjoying himself right now. All the extra attention pisses him off and even if he doesn't say it, I know he misses you. It's weird for all of us not sitting with you girls in the Common Room or at meals."

"Well he doesn't have people calling him a sad case either," I shrugged. "But can we stop talking about this now? Can we talk about how those Ravenclaws were wearing Ghouls t-shirts at dinner last night?"

"Ugh, I know. Everyone seems to have forgotten that no one except us cared when they played at our school earlier this year. Bandwagon fans are the worst," Remus replied, making a face.

"And it's all because of 'This Charming Witch' – can you believe of all the brilliant Ghouls songs – that's the one that has broken the top ten?"

He laughed. "I thought you loved that song – since you think it's about you."

"Just because it's about me, doesn't mean it's their best song," I said, shaking my head. "By the way, I heard Arson's going to be on Gordon Greaves' show tomorrow giving an interview about the inspiration behind the song."

Remus gasped dramatically. "So I can finally prove you wrong!"

I rolled my eyes and patted his hand condescendingly. "Let's put money on it, Remus. You'll be sorry you ever doubted Arson's devotion to me."

"Hey, Kate! Kate!"

"Bloody hell, who now?" Remus grunted as we both exhaled in irritation and turned to see which idiot was trying to get the gossip now. Oddly, it was Emmeline. She caught up with us and looked a little breathless, her eyes darting awkwardly to Remus and then me.

"Hey Remus, good Christmas?"

"Fair, thanks," Remus smiled. "Yours?"

"Oh yeah – okay. Kate…yours?"

"Brilliant…yours?" I laughed.

She looked apologetic and raked her fingers through her hair, biting her lip and looking at Remus like she wished he wasn't there. He caught on quick and looked at me questioningly.

"Shall I see you inside then?"

I nodded and he smiled again at Emmeline.

"Good to see you."

She looked flustered, but broke into a grin of her own. "Always."

He patted me on the back and disappeared into the classroom leaving me to sigh at Emmeline expectantly.

"Yes, we broke up."

"Yeah, I heard," she said. "I just wanted to see how you are. You two were together so long, I'm sure it can't be easy."

"I mean, whatever I tell you will probably be used against me in some secretive conversation in the loos, so why should I bother?" I asked bluntly, making her flush.

"No. I haven't been talking about you. I've been trying to do what you said – keep myself from gossiping. So, since I was thinking about you, I thought I'd come to you personally," she said, tucking her hair behind her ears nervously.

Regardless of my low mood, her words made me feel an inkling of happiness. She'd actually paid attention to what I said? I didn't really know what was true – but it seemed nice that she'd make the effort to be honest with me.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'll get over it," I said quietly.

"Was it a mutual sort of breakup?"

I fought off a groan, but shrugged. "Sort of. Not really. He doesn't want a girlfriend at all – that's the reason."

"Oh!" she said, her mouth dropping thoughtfully. "So all these girls after him don't have a chance anyway?"

"Who knows?" I shrugged. "I've got to go to History. Catch you later Em."

"I won't tell anyone, Kate," she called.

"Cheers," I said. "But I'm sure the word will get out anyway."

The oddest thing about Binns was that while he was normally completely unaware of his surroundings and dismissive of most students in general, he seemed to carry an unfounded vendetta against me. Was he still irritated that I'd accidentally marked one of his desks earlier in the year? Or was it because I'd once walked through him by accident? So, I hadn't done the holiday homework he'd set – he hadn't even asked us to hand it in until Dorcas had reminded him – there was no reason for him to berate me in front of everyone. Didn't he realize I had a lot on my plate?

"As usual, you show complete disregard for your education, me and this entire school!" he snapped angrily, making the desks tremble. I glared up at him as he floated above my desk impressively.

"Sorry Sir," I said, yawning. Jack Barnes and his mate a few rows ahead chuckled and I rolled my eyes conspiratorially at them. But other students seemed less amused by my relaxed reaction to the scolding. Remus was shaking his head and I could practically feel the tension radiating off Dorcas.

"We'll see if Professor McGonagall thinks you're sorry in detention!" Binns said before unceremoniously flying through the blackboard and disappearing.

"Only you could piss off a ghost who normally doesn't even care what day it is," Dorcas sighed.

I shrugged. It was just homework – was there any need to pretend the world was ending? This whole 'don't give a toss' thing might actually be good for me.

When we got to Transfiguration, I was feeling quite good. The whispers about me had changed their tune slightly – apparently now people seemed to think I was 'Don't Care Kate' and wasn't in the least affected by Sirius' indifference towards me. Upon entering the classroom, I felt another jolt of happiness. Greta Catchlove was hanging all over Sirius, but he was staring disinterestedly at his desk, ignoring her.

"Will you be going to Hogsmeade, do you think?" she asked, looking over her shoulder with a self-satisfied look at me.

Sirius shrugged. "It's not for a month." When he saw us enter, he raised his arm in greeting and shouted to Remus. "Oi Moony – you'll never guess what happened to James during our free."

"Can we not?" James groaned through laughter.

"What happened?" Remus called back, smiling a little sadly at me before heading over to his friends. Sirius' eyes met mine for a fraction of a second before Greta interrupted his conversation again.

Before she got more than a word out though, he cut over her firmly.

"Go away Catchlove."

"What? But–"

"Just because I don't have a girlfriend, it doesn't mean I'm going to start talking to you," he said cuttingly making her flush embarrassedly as a few people in the class started laughing. I couldn't quite stop the smile on my face as I watched, but he didn't smile back, he just turned to Remus and lowered his voice to tell him about whatever had happened to James. I would probably never know now that I was on the outside of their little gang. When I saw the disappointment on Greta's face as she headed over to our desk, I was very annoyed to realize that her expression was probably reflected on my own mouth. We didn't speak when she sat down, and even though I didn't like her – I sort of felt for her. Being ignored by him was something I'd have to get used to too.

As it turned out, McGonagall wasn't anymore impressed than Binns about my lack of homework. I was less inclined to yawn at her because she scared me, but I let her sharp words about effort and wasted potential wash over me like it was nothing. It's not as if schoolwork had ever been important to me, I didn't know why everyone was acting like this was something surprising. After getting my sentence for detention and leaving the classroom, I made a big show of laughing the whole thing off. While Dorcas rolled her eyes, Lily was more annoyed.

"What's going on with you? I know you're trying to be 'Don't Care Kate,' but does it really have to extend to all aspects of your life? What are you trying to prove?"

"Lily! It's homework – I'll catch it up."

"Look, I get it – you're hurt that he seems so unaffected and sure, by all means, act like it doesn't bother you that you're not with him. Just don't let it affect your schoolwork and your friends and the other things you love!" she insisted as we headed to dinner.

"My friends? I haven't once acted like I don't care about you!" I shot back angrily.

"Well if you think I'm supposed to buy this new attitude of yours, then you clearly don't respect my intelligence," she said,

"Lily, of course I respect you. Please, just stop worrying."

"Just leave it Lil – she'll have a breakdown one of these days and then it'll all come out," Dorcas said.

"Thanks Dor, your consideration for my mental health is astounding," I replied, rolling my eyes.

"I'm not going to push it Kate, but we're still here for you and I hope that you'll remember that you don't need to pretend to be something you're not," Lily said sadly.

"I already know that," I assured her. "It's just a little rut, okay?"

So the next day, I carried on like a loon without a care in the world laughing and making jokes during class, ignoring Sirius and pretending like I was on the prowl for a new boy. I knew my three closest friends hadn't completely fallen for my easy-going attitude, but for the most part they didn't push anymore and I was grateful for it. Everyone else seemed to believe that Sirius and I were both completely over the breakup, and although that wasn't the case on my end – I was happy to go along with it. It was easier being 'Don't Care Kate' – people expected it of me.

"Hey," Remus said, joining us once I'd arrived in the Common Room after detention. He said hello to Lily and Dorcas and then raised his eyebrows at me. No pushing, but still walking on bloody eggshells – it was so annoying.

"If you ask me if I'm okay, I might throw something at you," I said lightly, fiddling with the wireless trying to find Gordon Greaves' evening show. Since he'd been one of The Ghouls' biggest supporters, and now that 'This Charming Witch' had been in the top ten for a whole month, the wireless had moved Greaves' program to a more popular time. I had mixed feelings about the whole thing – obviously I was thrilled that The Ghouls were finally getting some recognition for their brilliance, but I also couldn't stand seeing these random girls wearing Ghouls themed t-shirts and singing along to every word of 'Charming Witch' like that made them some kind of super fan.

"I wasn't going to ask that," Remus said. "Just wanted to get closer to the wireless. I want to hear every word of this interview and see your face up close when you realize that Arson doesn't remember every fan he meets."

"So rude! And delusional. Remus, I have black eyes and a killer smile – it's right there in the first line."

He rolled his eyes at Lily and Dorcas. "She says I'm delusional."

"I actually really like that new song of theirs," Lily said. "It's much less moody than the other stuff you've played us."

Remus shrugged. "It's not their best – more pop than usual. But Kate thinks it's about her, and hopefully once she listens to their interview, she'll put that theory to rest and move on with her life."

"We'll see, Remus. Weren't we putting money on it?" I grinned.

"You're on," he said, shaking my hand. "Two thousand galleons."

Dorcas and Lily laughed and I patted him condescendingly on the shoulder.

"I'll figure out a payment plan for you – I'll even make a chart."

We all laughed again and over Remus' shoulder I saw Sirius, James and Peter look up to see what the commotion was about. To my slight annoyance, Sirius just rolled his eyes and leaned back in his armchair as someone called for me to turn the volume up. It was so irritating pretending not to care when he actually didn't care – he had it so easy.

Several people had also started listening, as Gordon Greaves' voice filled the room, so when Remus leaned close to me to whisper, "Sheep," I giggled over Gordon's first sentence. Someone shushed me and I rolled my eyes.

"Now, this band has been around for quite a few years, but they've just broken into the charts with their incredibly catchy new tune, 'This Charming Witch.' Here to give us the skinny on the inspiration is lead singer, the talented and mysterious, albeit a little brusque – Arson Fring!"

Some of the girls in the room sighed contentedly and I chuckled – It was unbelievable how fickle people were.

Arson's gorgeous throaty laugh rippled through the room and just like the fake fans, I sighed despite myself.

"Well," Arson laughed. "Thanks for that introduction, Gordo. Brusque, you think?"

"In the best way possible, mate. So, congratulations on the success of 'Charming Witch' – it's quite a departure from your earlier stuff. Pressure from your record label?"

Arson chuckled again and I could hear the bitterness.

"Just going for a different sound, mate. Wanted to explore something new."

"And make a boat-load of galleons and score some more attention from the ladies, I'm sure."

I scoffed and Remus shook his head. As if Arson was shallow enough to care about getting more women. From the corner of my eye, I saw that Sirius was yawning and stretching. While everyone else was paying rapt attention to the wireless, he just said bye to James and Peter, smacked Remus on the back and headed up to the dormitories. Even this was uninteresting to him – so bloody annoying.

"Well Gordo, it doesn't hurt. But you know it's always been about the music for me."

"True – it's why I've supported you for so long."

"Yeah, we're really grateful for that."

"Right – so go on, give us the scoop! Who is this Charming Witch? Are you going to break a million hearts and tell me you've got a 'one and only'?"

Lily elbowed me and I smiled grimly. Even if we did find out the song was about me, Sirius wouldn't even be around to hear it.

"Nah Gordo – I'm still free as a bird. It's actually more inspired by some of our faithful fan base."

"Oh, so just a general description of the ladies who love you?"

"Sort of. To be fair, I started writing 'This Charming Witch' after I met someone at a small gig we played at Hogwarts."

I inhaled sharply and I wasn't the only one – people were shouting for us to turn it up even louder now that our school had been mentioned. Remus turned the knob and shot me an anxious look, to which I replied with a gigantic smirk – my bad mood from a few moments ago evaporating.

"Hogwarts? The school? See a teacher you fancy? Aren't they all older than sin?" Gordon asked, snickering.

"They are. But I happened to run into a student there – she'd been a fan right since the first record – something I hadn't expected to find at Hogwarts at all," Arson replied.

"Oh, robbing the Cradle, Fring?"

Arson groaned and I could practically hear him shaking his head in irritation.

"It wasn't about that man. And she wasn't much younger than I am. She just had this killer energy about her – like the world was in her palm. There was no pretense about her, she didn't pretend to be above being a fan, but she still played it cool. She made me remember why I loved playing music for people."

"This girl…Kay?"

"Honestly Gordo – I'm not sure. It might have been Kate."

There was a loud gasp from the entire room and I saw Remus covering his head. I was bouncing in my seat. The attention couldn't have come at a better time – now people would focus on this instead of my breakup. Now I could focus on this instead of my breakup.

"I was too caught up in what she was saying to remember her name for sure. And Kay rhymes better than Kate. I originally just wrote the name as simply the letter, K."

"So what did she say – give you a naughty offer?"

"Who's the real perv here, Gordo?" Arson chuckled. "Nah, she called us a musical icon – which obviously is stretching it, but it made me and the rest of the lads remember why we set out in this business to start with. We wanted to matter."

"Wow, I hope this bird is listening. I think you may have just made her life!"

"Well, if she is listening – thank you, K."

"Brilliant. Great value. So, here it is ladies and gents – the newest number one, by The Ghouls – check out the rest of their albums, you won't regret it. This is 'This Charming Witch'…"

And then MY song came on and the Common Room erupted into conversation and I leaned back blissfully in my chair.

"Oh bollocks," Remus said.

"I'm in shock," Dorcas added.

"I genuinely can't believe that just happened," Lily commented.

"I'll take those two thousand galleons now, Remus ol' friend," I said, sitting up and grinning widely as people started to come over to interrogate me.

Who needed a boyfriend anyway? I was a muse.

A/N: Thanks for reading friends - see you next week!